Carson steps down as commencement speaker

'This is their day, and the last thing I would want to do is rain on their parade'

Published: 03/29/2013 at 11:14 PM

(MSNBC) Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson told Andrea Mitchell Friday that he is prepared to refrain from speaking at the university’s School of Medicine commencement ceremony, after students and faculty petitioned over comments he made this week that were widely seen as anti-gay.

Carson told FOX News host Sean Hannity Tuesday, “My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality–it doesn’t matter what they are–they don’t get to change the definition.”